What is the volume of water in a 6" water main that is 1 mile long?

To determine the volume of water in a 6-inch diameter water main that is 1 mile long, we need to calculate the volume of a cylinder, as a water main can be treated as a cylindrical shape.

First, we convert the diameter of the pipe into its radius. The radius is half of the diameter, so for a 6-inch pipe, the radius is 3 inches. To use the volume formula conveniently, we convert inches to feet (since there are 12 inches in a foot), which gives us a radius of 3 inches * (1 foot / 12 inches) = 0.25 feet.

Next, the total length of the pipe is 1 mile, which is equivalent to 5,280 feet.

The volume ( V ) of a cylinder is calculated using the formula:

[ V = \pi r^2 h ]

Where,

• ( r ) is the radius (in feet),

• ( h ) is the height or length of the cylinder (which, in this case, is the length of the water main in feet).

Plugging in the values:

• ( r = 0.25 ) feet,

• ( h = 5,280 ) feet.